NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of The 1990s
By Phil Watson
50 greatest NBA players from the 1990s — 19. Mitch Richmond
Mitch Richmond entered the 1990s as the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year after lighting up the league for the Golden State Warriors in 1988-89.
The light show continued for most of the next decade.
Richmond was third in the NBA in minutes per game for Golden State in 1990-91, but he was moved a few miles east on Interstate 80 in November 1991 to the Sacramento Kings along with Les Jepsen and a second-round pick in 1995 in exchange for the rights to Sacramento’s third overall pick, Billy Owens.
In his two seasons in the 1990s for the Warriors, Richmond averaged 23 points, 5.2 rebounds, three assists and 1.4 steals in 37.6 minutes per game, shooting .495/.352/.857.
Call the trade a win for the Kings.
Richmond went on to become a six-time All-Star and a five-time All-NBA selection in Sacramento and was the MVP of the 1995 All-Star Game.
He was also fourth in the NBA in minutes played in 1994-95 and in 3-pointers in 1995-96 and 1996-97. He was fifth in the league in total points in 1995-96 and fourth in 1996-97, as well.
But Richmond was also fifth in 3-point percentage in 1996-97 and in scoring average in both 1996-97 and 1997-98.
In May 1998, the Kings sent Richmond and Otis Thorpe to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Chris Webber.
In seven seasons in Sacramento, Richmond averaged 23.3 points, 4.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 37.8 minutes per game, shooting .453/.404/.847.
In his lone season with the Wizards in the decade, Richmond averaged 19.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 38.2 minutes per game on .412/.317/.857 shooting.
The fifth overall pick by the Warriors out of Kansas State in the 1988 NBA Draft, Richmond remained in Washington until July 2001, when he signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Richmond spent one season with the Lakers as a reserve, earning a championship ring when L.A. swept the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals before retiring.
He was fifth in the 1990s with 16,613 points and 1,137 3-pointers and eighth with an average of 23 points per game.
Richmond is 30th in NBA history with 1,326 3-pointers, 38th with 20,497 points, 47th with an .850 free-throw percentage and 34th with an average of 21 points per game.
He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.